This chapter was rather delayed due to my sudden addiction to Pokèmon Leaf Green. I could just kick myself for wasting that Master Ball on Articuno :( I promise the next one will be up much quicker.

-Nir

On the eighth month the rain finally came, and as Hisa had predicted, it was cold. For the spirit, the downpour was a relief, a release of emotion that had been kept under pressure for far too long. It wanted to sprint about through the curtains of water, to race with abandon against the fleeing clouds, and to watch the inky depths of its lake illuminated by the lightning. There had not been a storm like this for a very time, and even then the last one had not been half as ferocious as this one was.

However, it could not enjoy itself this time. It had to be there for its master, to comfort him with its presence, and perhaps to encourage the rain and thunder to continue for a bit longer. There was no reason it shouldn't have just a little bit of fun. Leaving Hana to suffer through the storm alone would be a terrible mistake, and it could not afford such grievous errors at this point.

There was no shelter from the rain. Hanatarou's robes and everything beneath them was saturated. He was probably holding Hisa too tightly, but his arms were so stiff he wasn't sure he'd be able to loosen them if he tried. So far it hadn't said anything about it, so perhaps it wasn't too uncomfortable. He hoped so. Even Hisa's cold body felt warm compared to the icy rain.

Well… no, it really didn't, but maybe he could convince himself that it did. He was willing to try anything to get away from the cold.

The sheets of rain were backlit by occasional flickers of lightning. It hadn't been sadness or hopelessness that had started the storm, but anger. His mind had drifted back to his last birthday, the day this nightmare had started, the day he'd been dropped from atop the execution hill. This was the first time he'd really thought about it. He'd been too preoccupied with his more positive memories to dwell on what had brought him here in the first place.

The thunder could not drown out the pounding of the rain on the lake's surface. Wrapped tightly in his arms, Hisa did not breathe. He'd never noticed before how it didn't need to. "They didn't think…" It whispered as the rumbling faded. "…about what might happen. They sought only a cheap thrill, and when they got it, they lost interest in you…"

He was hunched in an almost fetal position, presenting as little area as possible to the rain though it hadn't done much good. The wind had blown most of the water lilies away. They lay strewn about the island in pieces. For the first time in months he couldn't see the fog. It was far too dark, the boiling clouds obscuring whatever source usually lit his zanpakuto's realm.

"It's not fair, is it Hanaaa…? You and your company have done nothing but good for those men, yet they torment you and you do nothing to stop them…"

He wished Hisa would stop saying things like that, things that made him feel justified in hating the men who'd dropped him. He didn't want to hate them. Those sorts of feelings were what was fueling the storm, and he wanted the storm to end.

"Imagine if you never woke… They'd have killed you, Hana…. They'd have killed us."

Another blast of thunder reverberated through his shuddering body. He wasn't even angry any more, just cold and exhausted from crying and from clinging so tightly to Hisa. With visible effort he loosened his arms from the spirit's body and let them rest at his sides. There wasn't any point in trying to keep himself dry anymore. The rain had seeped through his clothing and soaked him to the skin. Hisa remained leaning against his chest, flicking drops of water off its ears as they fell from his chin.

"What will you do, Hana…?" It asked quietly. "If you do wake up… Will you confront them? They should be made to know what we have gone through…"

Hanatarou shook his head slightly, his damp hair clinging to his thin cheeks. "I don't even remember what they looked like." His throat was sore, his voice little more than a croak. "Anyway, I'm sure they've already been punished. There wouldn't be any point in talking to them now, so long after the fact…"

"But it's not faaaair, Hana…" Hisa's voice rose to a whine that made Hanatarou wince. "No punishment could be equal to what we have had to endure…"

He briefly pictured himself walking up to a group of burly officers and scolding them angrily. The image was so absurd he almost laughed, which brought about a coughing fit. "They wouldn't listen to me." He said when it had passed. "Besides… there would be more important things to do. I'd need to let everyone know I was okay, and that they didn't have to worry any more."

"Who? The people who allowed you to fall? Who have all but deserted you at this time?"

Hanatarou was quiet for a moment. The lightning seemed to have stopped except for an occasional flicker in the distance, but the rain continued to pour. "No… even if they don't come to visit, it doesn't mean they've deserted me. It would be asking too much of them to see me in person, since I wouldn't even know they were there. But… I do think about them all the time, so it might not be too unreasonable to assume that they think about me. I wouldn't ask any more of them than that."

The spirit sighed and shook its head, flinging droplets of water everywhere. Even after all this time Hana was still painfully naïve. Even after this storm, which was now slowing to a mere drizzle, he still dared to be hopeful.

"Do not forget though, Hana… Others have built up your hopes before, in more elaborate ways than this, just to crush them…" It began to peel back one of Hanatarou's sopping sleeves from his arm. He looked off to the side automatically; even by now unable to watch what would happen next. "You cannot let them take advantage of your feelings. They have dominated your thoughts and made you miserable. That is why it rained…"

Hanatarou's words had worried Hisa, though. Why was he talking like this again? Had he forgotten everything Hisa had told him? It was sick and tired of him endlessly mooning over his friends in the waking world, even after it had told him over and over that nothing good would come of it. Perhaps he knew, and he was simply doing it out of spite? No, probably not. Hana simply did not have it in himself to be spiteful, no matter how cruel the world was to him. It was a pity that such a great motivator was wasted on him, but Hisa was sure they could make up for it with something equally strong. It was just a matter of finding out what that stronger emotion was.

Hanatarou had not yet responded to the Hisa's words, and remained staring off to the side. He was thinking about what Hisa had said. He'd never suspected that the world was involved in a vast conspiracy to make him miserable, but according to Hisa, this was so. It made him wonder why it felt it had to make up such extravagant lies. Maybe he hadn't been doing enough to make it happy. What more did it want? He already let it drink from his wounds, and was always willing if it wanted to talk or to be held. There wasn't anything he wouldn't do, if only it would ask.

But Hisa didn't ask. It seemed he'd have to find out on his own what it was that the spirit wanted from him. Surviving here was only getting harder, he reflected as Hisa sank its sharp little teeth into his wrist. The blood that dripped onto the wet ground steamed for a moment before the still-falling rain washed it away. It seemed, despite being soaked and shivering, he was still warm inside.

--

By express order of captain Unohana, Isane was taking a break. It had been recommended that she should get as far away from the workplace as possible, so she'd left Seireitei altogether. There was no clear line between districts, but she imagined she was in the mid-forties by now. Most of the buildings were small and ramshackle but looked well-cared for, and those who dared to be out in the chilly weather greeted her with smiles.

She got herself a cup of tea from a nearby café and sat on one of the benches outside to drink it, but found herself merely staring into its murky depths. No matter how far she went from the medical center there was no escaping her worries. Itegumo had been dreadfully silent these past few weeks and often refused to speak when she was in the same room with Hanatarou. She was growing more and more suspicious that something bad had happened between the two spirits, but it seemed that whatever it was, telling her about it would have worse consequences than keeping it all to himself. It didn't seem very fair. She couldn't keep secrets from him, but he could keep them from her.

The air had cooled her tea enough that she could drink it without burning her mouth. She sipped it carefully. Tea would not make her forget her problems like sake would, but at least she didn't feel irresponsible drinking it. It was good tea, too. She couldn't quite place the flavor, but she thought it might be chamomile.

For a few minute she sat in silence, sipping her tea and listening to the quiet conversations of the café's other patrons. It was getting late, and soon it would be too cold outside to be comfortable. She would need to head back, and that meant being around Hanatarou again. After returning her teacup she started on her way back to the Seireitei, holding her shawl closer around her shoulders.

"Hey! Vice-captain lady!"

Isane stopped and peered back over her shoulder to see a cloud of dust billowing up from the path, headed by a man riding a gigantic boar. Obeying her first instinct, she dove out of the way, falling into the winter-dead grass by the side of the path. It turned out that she had panicked for no reason, as the boar stopped short about ten feet away, flinging its rider onto the ground in front of her.

"Ah! Shiba-san, are you alright?" Isane hurried over to where Ganju had fallen. He picked himself up, ignoring the hand she'd held out for him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. In fact, I'd be more worried if Bonnie-chan hadn't thrown me off." He brushed some dust from the front of his shirt and placed his hands on his hips, facing the boar. "I'd think she was sick or something, though she usually throws me much farther than this. You hear that, Bonnie-chan? You're a little off today!"

The boar just snorted and went back to nosing in the grass. Ganju watched her fondly for a moment before turning back to Isane. "So, yeah… uh…" He seemed to have forgotten what he was going to ask. Something had obviously been worrying him, though. He looked haggard, and his usually jovial nature seemed forced, as if it hurt to act like nothing was wrong.

"Did you… want to know about Hanatarou?" She suggested helpfully.

"Oh. Yeah, yeah." Ganju nodded. "So how's he doin'? I woulda gone and checked for myself, but you guys made it pretty clear last time that I shouldn't be hanging around there…"

"Well, he isn't doing any worse." Isane said, finding it easier to watch Bonnie digging for morsels with her tusks than look Ganju in the face.

"But he ain't doin' any better, neither."

"I wouldn't say so, no..."

"Dammit…" Ganju growled suddenly. "Why doesn't he just wake up already? What's stopping him?"

Isane took a step back, surprised and slightly ashamed to find that he actually scared her. "We don't know. Believe me; if there was any way we knew to help him to wake faster, we would use it. It's out of our hands though…"

"I can't hardly concentrate on anything anymore. I swear I'm gonna go crazy if something doesn't happen soon." Ganju sighed and held a hand to his forehead. "He's never gonna wake up, is he?"

"Come now, Shiba-san…" Isane hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder. "There's no reason to talk like that. I'm sure he'll be fine. He just needs a little more time."

"How long, though? Another eight months? A whole year? What if…" He turned to face her, visibly distraught. "What if he wakes up and doesn't know who any of us are? I dunno which would be worse… It's not just that, either. I'm real high-strung lately. Been getting into a lotta fights. I'm afraid I'm gonna hurt someone real bad because 'a this. Hana never liked when I got into fights, so the fact that I'm doin' just that makes me feel even worse…" With a heavy sigh he looked away. "Never thought I'd actually miss his nagging. It's like he thought he was my mom or something."

Isane smiled in spite of herself at the images his words conjured. It was just like Hanatarou to let others know just how much he cared about them, even though his concern got irritating after a while. "If you think it would make you feel any better…" She began, after a moment. "I suppose you could come and visit him, as long as you keep calm."

To her surprise he shook his head. "Nah, it wouldn't do any good. Seein' him like that… I'd just get angry again. I oughta be headin' home anyway. Sis wants me to fix up that wall I broke."

"Ah, well… it was nice talking to you, Shiba-san…" Isane raised a hand in goodbye, though he had already turned away. She watched as he climbed up onto the boar's back. Bonnie wasn't quite ready to leave, and showed her displeasure by halfheartedly bucking. Ganju murmured to her and ran his fingers through her coarse mane, calming her. Finally she galloped off, leaving Isane to watch the receding figure of the boar and her rider. She desperately hoped that she wouldn't let Ganju down, but there was only so much she could do. Maybe he'd be angry at first, like he'd been when all this had started, but she had faith in him. He knew that causing more pain would not bring Hanatarou back, but all the same she decided she would stay a bit closer to Seireitei on her next walk. Just in case.